


The Last Time

by Lunyluna



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-17 13:34:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29842278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lunyluna/pseuds/Lunyluna
Summary: A story about Ana Travers. She is the best friend of playboy Sirius Black and the sister of the determined Slytherin, Shay Travers. She's the Gryffindor girl who has caught the eye, not only of the Dark Lord, but several of his devoted followers. This story starts as she begins her sixth year at Hogwarts, while she navigates between friendship, family, and secrets.
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Original Female Character(s)/Original Male Character(s), Rabastan Lestrange/Original Female Character(s), Sirius Black/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

_It was colder than usual in the Riddle house. Three others and I had just returned from a small town in northern Yorkshire where four m_ _uggle born_ _families were murdered. Bellatrix’_ _s_ _cackle rang in my ears along with the screams of the witches and wizards. My eyes were unfocused as the Dark Lord entered the room with what could only be considered a smile on his face. He seemed pleased with us and he praised us for our accomplishment. This night marked the first multiple Death Eater attack, and we all knew what that meant; the war had started._

* * *

"Ana, dinner’s ready!" I heard my mother’s voice carry up the stairs.

It was the end of my long, dreary summer. A summer spent reading, helping out around the house, and making sub par memories with my family. Normally, I loved the summer. It was a break from school and time that I could spend with my friends and generally just relaxing before the dreaded week before going back to Hogwarts, where the readings would pile up and the comments from my parents that I had wasted my entire summer would ensue.

This year was different, life was changing. I was no longer allowed off the property without parental or sibling supervision. The world was changing, and it was no longer safe for us out there alone according to my dad, who was a bit more over protective than he needed to be.

All because of one stupid bloke. Voldemort they called him. He was a psychopath, from what I had gathered. He was a dark wizard who led an extremist group that believed in blood purity, and they were responsible for the events that were unfolding and the reason I wasn’t able to visit my friends. I’d heard the name for years. My father was an Auror with the Ministry of Magic, and although he tried to keep us in the dark about all the horrific things he dealt with at work, occasionally him and his buddies would get together in the lounge with the expensive scotch and talk too loudly.

Voldemort was pure evil, and I knew every year things seemed to be getting worse rather than better. My father had been so certain they would get this under control, that they would catch him and put an end to the terrible things that he stood for; however, more and more witches and wizards were going missing and turning up dead. More groups were joining him, those that were considered outcasts in our world were becoming more powerful and feared.

The Daily Prophet was full of articles written about people being scared to leave their homes in fear that they would find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. At first I thought it was all rubbish, some sort of weird propaganda the Ministry conjured up to keep us subdued and that all the kidnappings and deaths were just a simple coincidence, but the day my father came home from work, about a week into summer holidays and sat us all down before putting strict boundaries in place, is when it all became too real. I had never seen him so shaken than that day. It had been a month and a half since I had left the manor, and although I was frustrated, I understood the need to be cautious. I trusted my father, he wouldn’t keep us from the world if it wasn’t necessary.

My brother on the other hand, fought tooth and nail over the restrictions.

He couldn’t understand why we, a pure blood family, needed to worry. In his mind we were safe. We weren’t the ones that were going missing and there weren’t any cases of pure bloods getting murdered by Voldemort or his followers. Over the summer I had watched him change. He changed into an unrecognizable version of himself, one that I was certain agreed with Voldemort’s views. Not only was this monster tearing apart our world, he was infecting my family.

Every day was a battle between my parents and him. He tried convincing them that we were on the wrong side, that we should be joining Voldemort. Why? Because Voldemort promised power and security to those that joined him and destruction to those who didn’t. It didn’t help that he was in Slytherin, and many of his house mates and their families were into that kind of thing. Whenever my parents were out, it seemed that he made a habit of inviting his friends over and I heard the conversations about their families joining the cause. They called themselves death eaters, and they called Voldemort the Dark Lord.

It was eerie.

I, on the other hand was a Gryffindor, and my friends were just as against Voldemort as I was. We used to talk about it when were back in school and still able to see one another. We’d talk about how there was no way the blood purists would win if a war was ever started. Based on what we saw, Slytherin’s were idiots. Although spending these past few months around my brother and his friends, I was starting to realize they didn’t talk about it like it was all hypothetical. They truly believed what they were willing to fight for was right.

I walked into the kitchen, but there was no food on the table as promised.

"I don't see anything to eat." I said disappointedly, but it seemed no one was listening.

I cleared my throat loudly, trying to pull their attention away from their argument. "Hello, sorry to break up the festivities. There isn’t anything to eat, why’d you call me down?" My mom finally stopped squabbling with my brother and turned her attention to me.

"We are eating outside dear, your father is already at the table. Why don't you go out and join him." She said sounding exasperated. Not wanting to engage in all this family nonsense, I sauntered out the back doors and towards the part of the yard where my father sat under the pavilion.

As frustrated as I was to be cooped up on the manor, I loved where I lived. No neighbors for miles, and all that surrounded us was good ole nature. There was a lake on the other side of the hill that was only a brief walk away, which is where I spent most of my time anyways. So many memories were made at that lake and the surrounding forest. I often had my group of friends to the house, James, Sirius, Peter, Remus, and Lily.

I’d met Sirius my first year at Hogwarts and we instantly became friends. We bonded over the fact that we came from predominantly Slytherin inherited families, yet somehow we both ended up in Gryffindor. I was a shy first year back then, and he was the outgoing one. He formed a tight circle of friends, but never left me behind.

I met Lily my second year of school. We had crossed paths being in the same year and house, but we never spent much time together until being partnered up on a potions assignment. We bonded quickly, though we had nothing in common. She was a muggle born but I was fascinated about the way she lived. On a whim, she invited me back to her home for part of winter break and I gladly accepted, thrilled at the prospect of living among muggles for a week. It was during that time we became fast and close friends.

She was a nerd, and I was a mischief maker, mainly because of who I hung out with. Whoever said you should be careful who you surround yourself with was absolutely correct. They changed me from the shy, innocent little girl to the pain in the ass I was.

The warm evening air fluttered around me as I walked through the grass. When I reached the table I sat down across from my father and stared at the glorious last meal we would be having together as a family.

It was bittersweet.

I settled my gaze on him when he finally spoke. "I have a feeling they will be in there for a while, you may start if you’re hungry, Ana." He said lazily, not looking up from his book.

Grinning, I quickly grabbed my plate and piled on all the mouthwatering food that was spread on the table in front of me. I began to eat my meal alone while my dad continued to read his book.

I knew he wasn't actually reading, he hadn't flipped his page the entire time I had been sitting there. He was listening to the argument occurring inside that had increased in volume and carried out into the yard. Good thing we didn’t have neighbors, they’d think we all hated each other.

I continued to eat in silence, the tension making me feel uncomfortable. He must’ve sensed it, because sighing before he closed his book, he turned to me for conversation as he tried to turn our attention away from the shouting coming from inside. “Did you get all your readings done before school starts?” He asked and I snorted at his lack of awareness. It’s like he didn’t even know his own daughter. “I’ll take that as a no.” He laughed and I flashed him an innocent grin.

“How are you faring on learning occlumency? You and Shay still competing?” He raised his brow, changing the subject.

“Getting really good. I’m working on planting thoughts. I’ve come a long way in a month.” I bragged, causing him to smile proudly at me.

“That’s my girl. You’re going to outshine your brother again in no time.” He laughed as I feigned arrogance.

“Was that ever a question?” I said before taking a bite of my dinner roll. "What is going on with Shay and mum anyways?I know you were listening."

"Just a disagreement." He said vaguely.

"Does it involve Voldemort again?" I asked as I shoveled roasted potatoes into my mouth.

"Unfortunately, yes." His voice went stern.

I couldn't believe Shay would do this to our parents. I was getting extremely frustrated with it, it felt like he was tearing our happy family apart. “He’s an idiot” I retorted.

“Ana, he’s scared.”

“Just because he’s scared doesn’t mean he has to go against everything you’ve ever taught us.” I rolled my eyes.

“We never expected this as parents.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “We will never forced either of you to choose sides, we always taught you to make your own decisions. You are a pure blood Ana, you come from a long line of prominent pure bloods and in his mind he is supporting what is in his ancestry. I cannot fault him for that.” He sighed.

I looked at him skeptically before I said “You can’t honestly tell me you support Voldemort.” which caused him to laugh.

“Absolutely not, but I understand where you brother is coming from. We are who we surround ourselves with. You, your mother, and I are lucky to be surrounded by like minded witches and wizards who are inclusive to everyone, whether it be muggle born or pure blood. Your brother is surrounded by blood purists, many who’s families support Voldemort’s vision and encourage their children to do the same. All I can hope for is that he makes the right choices when it counts.”

“You didn’t turn out to be like them and you were in Slytherin” I stated.

“We also were not in the middle of a war, Ana. We were exposed to the same prejudices and were taught certain things, but we were not in a position where we needed to choose sides.” He countered.

I sighed. He was right. My parents went to school during a simpler time. Yes, the dark arts still existed and blood purity intolerances existed, but there wasn’t a fanatic running around encouraging pure bloods to join his cause in eliminating the rest. That occurred before his time, when Salazar was running the show. Voldemort, or the Dark Lord as his loyal subjects referred to him as, was picking up where he left off.

I had already finished eating dinner by the time mum joined us; however, their argument had obviously not been resolved as Shay radiated with anger as he walked behind her and sat as far away as possible.

The remainder of dinner was awkward. Mum tried to make light of our last night together, keeping the conversation easy and avoiding any topics that could be turned into debate. After they had all finished their dinners, and I had finished my second helping, I excused myself from the table and headed up to my room to pack my trunk for school.

We were to take the train to Hogwarts tomorrow, and I was not even slightly close to being ready. I had a habit of procrastinating and was waiting until later that night to pack up all of my possessions. I had hoped that my state of being tired would overpower my excited thoughts about being reunited with my long lost friends, but my mind was still buzzing.

Before reaching the top of the stairs, I heard footsteps on the staircase behind me and I turned to see Shay following. He still looked angry. "I need to talk to you, now." He ordered harshly.

"I'm busy right now Shay, I'll talk to you later." I said, irritated as I continued to walk up the stairs and towards my room. I wasn’t happy with him ruining our last night together as a family.

"No Ana, now. It's important." He said more firmly. I exhaled loudly and headed towards his room instead before he closed the door behind us firmly.

Three guesses what this could be about.

"What is it?" I asked carelessly as I threw myself down onto his bed.

"You're friends with that blood traitor, right?" He asked, sitting in the chair across from me.

"I'm sorry, I don't know to whom you are referring to, I’m pretty sure I am friends with several." I said sarcastically, trying to get under his skin. I knew exactly who he was talking about.

He was talking about Sirius.

"Black." He muttered his name with a look of disgust.

"Sure, we’re acquainted."

I rolled my eyes. Of course Shay knew I was friends with Sirius Black. He came to the house dozens of times each year since my first year of Hogwarts, we spend nearly all our time together at school, and he’d accompanied us on several vacations so it frustrated me that he was being so dismissing of our obvious friendship.

"You need to stay away from him this year." He stated.

"Excuse me?" I asked angrily.

"Even though I think you’re being stupid, you’re still my sister and I care about you. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“How would my friendship with Sirius get me hurt?” The anger melted away and I was genuinely confused at this point.

“Being close with him is dangerous." He said lowering his voice.

"Why?" I inquired. He was clearly holding something back.

"There are a lot of plans in motion, and his family won’t hesitate in forcing him to see the way they do, you know that.”

I knew that better than anyone. I saw the scars from the years of abuse and the fresh bruises when he returned from winter and summer break. Sure, Sirius went against everything his family stood for, but that was nothing new. His parents took it out on him, practically disowning him and were so twisted in thinking they could convert him by beating him into submission, but there was no reason his relationship with his family would affect me. We were friends and that was the extent of it.

I looked down at my hands, picking at my nails as I thought about my best friend and his abusive home life. My house hadn’t been the cheery one I was used to lately, but at least I never felt unsafe or unloved. “If you're close to him, they might use you to convince him." He looked at me, suddenly speaking softer than when the conversation had started.

Was he actually worried about something happening to me?

"Who are they? I don't-" I began before getting cut off by his now firm voice.

"Ana please. It makes me so god damn angry that you are being this fucking stubborn and choosing the wrong side, but if that's the way you are going to go then you need to at least cut ties with Black." He said cruelly, standing from his chair as I flinched.

Shay was much bigger than me, standing at over six feet with broad shoulders and a sturdy build. He had a deep, powerful voice, and although he didn’t actually raise his voice at me, I normally I wasn’t on the receiving end of his anger and it frightened me.

He must’ve noticed my demeanor change, so he sat back down with a huff.

“I’m just trying to look out for you.” His voice was soft and I could tell he was struggling with something.

Shaking it off, I stood. "He's my best friend Shay, I can't just abandon him, especially if it is getting as bad as you say it is. He clearly needs the support when there are people like you out there giving him such a hard time." I said firmly, not letting him guilt me into doing exactly what he wanted.

“I love you Shay and that will never change, but you need to stop treating me like a child and telling me what to do. I can make up my own fucking mind and I can take care of myself.” I turned and stormed out of his room towards my own and shut the door firmly behind me as I laid down on my bed, pinching the crown of my nose at the feeling of a headache coming on.

He was infuriating. How could he honestly expect me to stop seeing my best friend. Someone who had always been there for me when I needed it. I hated this new world, I hated the way it was pitting people against each other, and I wished things could go back to how they used to be when all we ever disagreed about was who would do the chores, or whether or not I stole something from him or if he simply misplaced it.

Shay was never the ‘happy go lucky’ type of guy, but he was never angry. It didn’t help that we were both competing over who could be more stubborn than the other. He wanted things seen his way, and I wanted things seen mine. That would never change, but we used to be able to meet somewhere in the middle eventually. This argument had been going on for far too long and I was sick of it.

I groaned and looked towards my unpacked trunk. Now more than ever I looked forward to getting out of here and back to Hogwarts. I’d be free from Shay, only seeing him occasionally in the hallways, and wouldn’t have to listen to his delusions every single day. It would be nice to have a break.

I raised myself off my bed and started tossing in the items I would need at Hogwarts. It only took me half an hour until I was done, and once I double checked that everything was accounted for I sat down on my bed looking at the loaded trunk sadly.

This was going to be a hard year. Everything that Shay had just told me about my relationship with Sirius made my stomach tight. Although I didn’t know for sure, I had a feeling that there was more going on than he was letting on. A part of me questioned whether or not Shay was further gone than I thought.

Over the summer, a certain Slytherin and I had grown close, so close that I’d actually entertained the idea that he would end up my first official boyfriend, but he had stomped on my heart just as quickly as he had weaseled his way into it. During our intimate conversations however, he hinted that the Dark Lord had recruited some students from Hogwarts, practically admitting him and his brother were aligned with some inner circle, and now I was wondering if Shay was a part of that too. Maybe that was why he seemed so certain that Sirius and I were in danger. But the thought of my brother being so involved in something like that didn’t seem possible.

Sighing at my running mind, I changed into a pair of shorts and a loose t-shirt before grabbing my yoga mat and heading down the stairs and out through the back door. I passed my parents my way out, smiling at them as I caught them cuddled up on the sofa with some drinks in their hands.

I laid my mat down on the patio next to the pool, looking out to the west where the sun was lowering in the sky. Nearly every night at sunset or at moonrise, I did an hour of yoga and finished off with a short meditation. It was my time alone; a time to calm my mind and escape the insane world around me. Taking a deep breath, I raised into tree pose and began my session.

It was dark by the time I opened my eyes and I sat cross legged on my mat, facing out where the sun had recently set. My mind was empty, and the only thing I focused on was the excitement at starting a new school year and a new chapter in my life.

* * *

Sunlight poured through the large window across from where I slept on my bed as I opened my eyes the next morning. I laid in bed for a moment, stretching my tight limbs and pulling the blankets up to my face, embracing the warmth of my personal cozy cloud for the last time. My mind started racing with the excitement of going back to Hogwarts so I got up and dressed myself for the day. I pulled my long dark blonde hair up into a loose pony tail and bounded down the stairs as the smell of coffee brewing in the kitchen called to me.

My parents were sat at the kitchen island in their routine; my dad reading the Daily Prophet and my mom reading one of her novels.

“Morning.” I greeted cheerily as I poured myself a cup of coffee from the carafe. The warm liquid heated my insides and awakened my senses as I strolled across the kitchen, leaning against the island opposite my parents. I grabbed an orange and began peeling the skin as Shay walked in. He mirrored my actions as he filled a cup and stood next to me.

“Are you guys ready for school?” My dad asked as he put his paper down and turned his full attention to the family gathering.

“Yup.” I said before shoving a slice of my orange in my mouth.

“You going to sit with me on the train?” Shay bumped his shoulder to mine and winked down at me.

“You wish.” I smiled up at him, which quickly turned to a glare as he plucked the orange slice from between my fingers and chowed down.

“I’m going to miss seeing my baby sister every day. I realized you’re not all bad being stuck with you this summer.”

“You’re a little behind on that realization. Everyone else has known for years.” I said smugly. Shay snorted and turned back to finish his coffee.

The room felt comfortable and made me feel nostalgic; I was going to miss the family time, but I was excited to see my friends again and be back at school. I was so thankful for my family even in the dark times that were trying to tear us apart. We were always there for each other and we always had each others backs. I was nervous for what this year would bring. Something felt different, and I worried that with Shay being in Slytherin and me being in Gryffindor we would be pitted against each other, but all I could do was remember the bond we had and hope that it was enough to keep us strong.

“Well you two, we should get going. It’s half past ten, you don’t want to miss the train.” My dad rose from his seat, waving his wand to clean the mess from breakfast.

I stood lazily from my seat and followed Shay to the front entrance where our trunks were resting. Mum opened the front door as my dad levitated our belongings out into the fresh late summer morning and after giving my parents a tight hug as we said our goodbyes, I took Shay’s arm. I inhaled sharply as I waited for the unpleasant experience of apparation.

* * *

The distant bustling of King’s Cross Station flooded my senses as I opened my eyes. We were in a secluded room used by wizarding families who used apparation to travel to the train station so as to not draw attention to ourselves, so I loaded my luggage onto a trolley and followed Shay out of the room as we made our way to platform 9 and 3 quarters. We travelled through the gateway and left our luggage with the man who was loading everything onto the train and began I walking along the platform towards one of the sidecar doors when I heard the sound of someone shouting my name.

"Ana, Ana! Over here Ana!" I heard James Potter’s excited voice drifting through one of the compartment windows.

"Ana, get your ass in here!" Sirius' head poked out of the window next to James'.

I smiled and waved at them before turning to Shay, who was giving me a knowing look.

“You’re not going to control who I spend my year with.” I rolled my eyes.

He sighed and grabbed hold of my shoulders and pulled me in for a brotherly hug, his large frame crushing me into him. “Just please be careful.” He muttered quietly.

“I wish you would just tell me what the hell is going on.”

“I would if I could.” He squeezed me tightly before unwrapping his arms and resting his hands on my shoulders again. “I love you.”

“I love you too, I’ll see you in a few hours.” I laughed at his dramatics and punching him playfully in the chest, making him smile. He pushed me away from him gently and ruffled my hair then turned to enter the train.

“Awww aren’t you two just adorable.” Sirius mocked as he watched our sibling interaction from the window.

“Shut it, Black.” I said as I walked a few paces to enter the train and locate the compartment they had claimed. When I opened the sliding door I was greeted with another unexpected hug. Sirius had his arms wrapped tightly around me and I instinctively hugged him back as I chuckled. Like Shay, he was much bigger than me, so he crushed me in the tight embrace.

"How was your summer?" He asked as we took our seats across from Remus, Peter, and James.

"Uneventful, yours?" I asked.

"Same. Glad to be heading back to Hogwarts! I’m ready to cause some fucking trouble." He exclaimed and the others cheered excitedly.

"I second that." I said, leaning back against the seat and looking out the window as the train began to move. Only a few more hours and I would be back at school with my friends, and Sirius.


	2. Chapter 2

The trip to Hogwarts was dull to say the least. The boys inhaled a copious amount of sweets, then dared each other to try weird looking Bertie Bot's Every Flavored Beans. Needless to say, there was a lot of gagging and dry heaving going on in the compartment. About half way through the train ride while we were in the middle of a heated game of exploding snaps Sirius left with Charlene, a fifth year, to get his snog on. Last year they were, according to her, going steady although those of us who knew Sirius could confidently say she was just another notch on his bedpost.

Sirius had never been the relationship type. As a matter of fact, I couldn’t think of a single relationship he entertained where he considered the girl to be his girlfriend. He had a reputation as being a player, anyone he gave the time of day to was dropped within two months but oddly, that didn't put a stop to the Sirius Black fan club. He was hot and he knew it. Sometimes my heart went out to the girls who thought they would be the one to finally tie him down, but most of the time I couldn’t care less.

I had been the only girl that stood the test of time, and because of that people often assumed him and I were shagging and that I was the reason he never made it official with anyone. I’d heard dozens of rumors about myself over the years. Sometimes they were started by the broken hearted, but more often than not just by random busybodies who couldn’t mind their own business. The rumors always gave me a good laugh, though.

In our fourth year, it circulated that we had an arranged marriage, so even though he was in love with whatever dullard he was dating at the time he wasn’t actually allowed to be with her because of it. Last year, I apparently had him blackmailed and threatened to release whatever dirt it was I had on him if he made things official with Charlene. It was apparently so bad, that whatever it was, it was certain to get him expelled. Now, I don’t have any hard evidence, but I’m almost positive she started that one.

Sirius was a nice guy, a great guy actually and I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t entertained the idea of what it would be like to take our friendship to the next level. Like I said, he was hot, anyone with eyes could tell you that, and the troubled bad boy facade was a surprisingly huge turn on for me. Although he was everything I looked for in a guy, I could never date him.

The reason I could never date him was because of that long term friendship. Not only because I couldn’t imagine my life without him if things were to get complicated between us, but because I knew he wasn’t boyfriend material. I’d seen the way he treated girls and heard the way he talked about them, and even though he was a great guy, I just couldn’t imagine myself being the one he talked about like that. It helped that I was certain he didn’t look at me that way. Besides, I was pretty picky about who I dated. It was my sixth year and I still hadn’t had a boyfriend. Sure, I’d kissed a few guys here and there and had more than one offer, but prior to this summer no one intrigued me enough to actually consider dating. Because of that, people assumed I was holding out for my chance with the elusive Sirius Black.

After hours of traveling, we finally arrived at the station in Hogsmeade. There was still no sign of Sirius, so the guys and I left him behind as we claimed one of the carriages. It was a calm but brisk evening so although it was a bit more chilly than the average summer night, the long ride up to the castle wasn’t as unpleasant as it had been the year before when it had been pouring rain. As we rounded the last bend, the castle came into view and I immediately felt butterflies erupt in the pit of my stomach. The windows were brightly lit, emanating a warm and inviting ambiance that I longed for since I was only wearing a thin shirt under my robes. Any hesitation I had about coming back to school melted away, and suddenly I couldn’t wait to walk through the castle doors and march my way up to the great hall where there would be warmth, excitement, and food.

Lots of food.

My mouth began to water at the thought of the feast we were about to indulge in. I was starving. The gagging had completely turned me off food for the entirety of the train ride, and it was becoming increasingly hard to ignore the fact that I hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast. Once the carriages reached the castle, we descended and began the short walk up to the main doors.

"I'm looking forward to dessert." Peter said happily.

"I'm excited for the turkey. Can you believe it’s been since the last feast at Hogwarts that I got a turkey dinner?" James piped in.

"I'm not really hungry." Remus added ignoring James and earning him a couple of weird looks.

I grinned at the lightheartedness of the conversation. After such a heavy couple of weeks, it was nice to just talk about food.

"What about you Ana? I know your mum is practically a gourmet chef, but are you excited to fill your belly with all the deliciousness Hogwarts has to offer?" James grinned, draping a heavy arm over my shoulder.

"The potatoes." I said simply as I stared up at the castle.

"What?" Remus and James asked at the same time.

"I'm looking forward to eating potatoes."

"What kind of potatoes are you most looking forward to?" James asked, amused.

Thinking about it for a moment and practically tasting all the flavors in my mouth I said, "Mashed potatoes," I nodded my head, confident in my answer.

We walked through the oversized doors as we entered the great hall and my heart fluttered when I looked up and saw the hundreds of candles hovering above the room, casting a bright glow. It was something simple, but something I always thought was so beautiful and unique none the less.

The guys and I took our seats at the Gryffindor table. I sat next to Lily, while Remus and Peter took the seats across from us with James sliding in on my left. I felt a bit awkward sitting between the two of them but I guess it would at least prevent them from arguing. James liked to pick fights with Lily.

"Ana! It's good to see you, I've missed you! How was your summer?" Lily asked excitedly, her whole face lighting up as I sat down.

"I wasn't allowed to leave the house unless I was with my parents or brother." I complained. "How was yours?"

"Mine wasn't that bad. My parents, Petunia, and I took a vacation to the cabin at the lake. It was so relaxing. The weather was great when went, so I was able to spend the entire time out by the water. I wish you could've come. It wasn’t the same without you." Lily said.

"So do I." I muttered. It would’ve been nice getting away and seeing a friend even if it was just for the weekend. I loved my brother, but being only around him and his friends all summer had started to drain my spirit.

Just then Sirius walked up and took the vacant seat across from me, looking rather amused about something.

"Padfoot, we were wondering when you were going to grace us with your _esteemed_ presence." James said spiritedly as he took in his friends appearance. His hair was messier than it usually was, his collar was open, and his tie was completely missing from his uniform.

"Where's the girl that gave you that?" I nodded my chin towards the very noticeable bruise forming on his neck as he sighed.

"I broke things off with her." Sirius answered with a shrug, not even trying to sound upset.

"On the first day of school? How gentlemanly of you." James snorted back a laugh.

"The spark just wasn’t there anymore." He said nonchalantly.

"Well judging by your appearance it looks like it went well," said Peter.

I bit my lip trying not to laugh at the look on Lily’s face. Normally she tried to avoid the guys, other than Remus who she got along with quite well. The others were never her cup of tea; they didn’t have anything in common and usually the conversation ended with Lily expressing her indifference at their constant disregard for the rules or apathy towards schoolwork. Needless to say, she wasn’t as accustomed to the way Sirius talked about his extracurricular activities as we were.

"I had to test the sparks first, Peter." Sirius defended as the four of us shared a knowing look.

"You're a dog Sirius, everyone knows it." I said, earning him a smirk from his three friends. “What was your excuse this time? ‘It’s not you it’s me,’ or my personal favorite, ‘I just need to focus on my studies, and you’d be too much of a distraction’?” I grinned, taking a sip of pumpkin juice and waiting for him to return the banter.

“You have so little faith in me Travers, don’t you think I’d just be honest with the girl?” He feigned offense, and I couldn’t help but notice his gaze drop to my mouth as I casually ran my tongue between my lips after taking another sip.

I glanced over to Remus as I caught him rolling his eyes at his friends’ response before I continued. “You’re right, I can’t believe I didn’t consider that. So how did she take it when you told her she had nothing to offer other than what’s between her pretty little legs, and that you were simply ready to move on to the next pussy because she gave it up too quickly to warrant any more time and effort from you?” My eyes flickered playfully as I watched the corners of his mouth turn up in amusement.

James snorted next to me, trying to gulp down the drink in his mouth before barking out a laugh. “Damn mate she just called you out!” He exclaimed as he wiped up the pumpkin juice he spilled on himself.

Sirius looked at me with a smug grin, taking my comment as the challenge it was. “She was upset at first, but to be honest I think you’ve got it backwards babe. I’m sure she was only using me for my dick, because as a goodbye gift she pulled me into the closet and practically begged me to bend her over.” He leaned back, seemingly proud of himself. “And based on what I saw, heard, and felt it’s safe to say she enjoyed herself.”

I shook my head, chuckling quietly as Lily finally decided to chime in. “Do you have to be so vulgar? You shouldn’t talk about your exes like that! How would she feel if she found out you told all your friends, plus practically a complete stranger about such an intimate thing between the two of you?” She scolded, her face red with both embarrassment and anger.

“I think she’d be flattered she was worth talking about at all.” Sirius shrugged as Lily scoffed.

“Why do you hang out with this asshole?” She turned to me with judgement on her face.

“Honestly Lily, I couldn’t tell you.” I said as I shook my head at Sirius, shooting him a simpering grin. This was just how he was. This was one of the many reasons I’d never consider dating him. He had no sense of loyalty to any of the girls he shagged, and even though I knew it wasn’t so much as bragging as it was more so just not giving a fuck about their feelings, it still confirmed that Sirius Black was not boyfriend material.

Remus changed the subject to our class schedules, a much more appropriate topic to be discussing at the dinner table on our first day back. I was listening closely to the conversation when I felt someones eyes on me, and looking past Sirius I saw my brother looking over in our direction while two of his friends were glaring at the back of Sirius’ head, all three of them seemingly deep in conversation. His eyes weren’t on Sirius though. Shay was looking directly at me. He masked whatever it was he was thinking as his expression went blank when he saw me notice him. Quickly breaking our eye contact, I turned my attention to the front of the hall where Headmaster Dumbledore was signaling for everyone to quite down so that he could begin the sorting ceremony.

It didn't seem as long as usual, either that or I was just so caught up in my head that I’d missed half of it, so in no time the food appeared in front of me and the loud conversation resumed. I dropped a huge spoonful of mashed potatoes on my plate, ignoring the looks from the others, and dug in. I didn't really join in any of the conversations, only nodding in response when something was directed at me as I sat there feeling stuck in my head. I couldn't shake the suspicion that something bad was on the verge of happening.

Once Lily was done eating, we left the great hall together and leisurely made our way up to the seventh floor to the Gryffindor common room. It was quiet when we entered so rather than heading straight up to the dormitories, we dropped ourselves lazily on the plush couches in front of the warm fireplace.

We both watched the dancing flames before she broke the silence. “You seem upset about something.” Lily said carefully.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because normally _you_ are the one talking the loudest when you’re with the guys and tonight you barely said a word." She said smartly.

"I'm just tired." I defended quietly. I didn’t want to get into this, even though I knew she wasn’t about to leave it alone. Besides my family and Sirius, Lily knew me best. Our fast friendship had developed into such a strong bond that we could practically tell what the other was thinking just based off of facial expressions alone.

"It's Shay isn't it? I saw the look he was giving you. You said in your last letter that things were getting a lot worse." Lily said, her voice filled with concern.

I didn’t want to talk about this. Not with her.

"Things with him are just strange right now. Last night he told me to stop hanging around Sirius, and tonight I caught him and his friends looking over at us." I answered vaguely. I wasn’t sure how much I should let on about what he’d told me the night before. He’d always been friends with a certain crowd, but lately it seemed they were rubbing off on him more than they had in the past. He was never openly prejudice, but over the summer he’d said some things that made me question where his head was at.

"Why does he want you to stay away from Sirius?” She asked. “I'm not opposed to it or anything, but I'm sure his reasons are different from mine." Lily grinned, causing my mood to lighten. Sirius and Lily got along fine but she never really liked him; the earlier conversation from dinner being one of the many reasons.

"Just something to do with his family is all, it seems kind of silly to be honest." I brushed it off, truly not wanting to talk about it in the middle of the common room. Even though there weren’t many people around, I still felt like this was a conversation to be having in a more private location.

Lily nodded understandingly and stood, "Well we should get out of here before Remus comes up with all the first years. Want to go unpack?" She asked with a bit too much enthusiasm.

"Sure Lily." I humored her with the same amount of zest as I followed her up the stairs to the girls dormitory.

* * *

_The bright sun filtered through the trees into a vibrant green meadow, while a warm breeze_ _stirred_ _the leaves and brushed my hair over my shoulders, the tickling sensation sending tingles_ _down my arms_ _._ _Taking a deep breath, I caught the wood_ _s_ _y scent of the surrounding forest and the fresh soft grass that I was seated on. Looking up to the clearing in the trees, I watched as wispy white clouds painted the blue sky above. It was peaceful in this meadow, and it felt like this was the safest place I’d ever be_ _en_ _. Suddenly, there was a slight rustling sound to my left, so I turned my attention to see what had made the noise._

_That was when I saw a handsome face, a face I would recognize anywhere_ _though he_ _looked a few years older than he should have been._ _His hair was slightly longer,_ _tattoos littered his arms and the exposed part of his chest,_ _and he had a stubble of facial hair over his upper lip, cheeks, and chin._ _Despite the differences,_ _his prominent features were all still the same_ _as_ _his grey eyes sparkl_ _ed_ _with mischief._ _He approached me slowly, all the while smiling his_ _intoxicatingly_ _brilliant smile, and_ _took a seat next to me in the grass._ _He ran a hand through his thick hair before_ _locking his eyes with mine._

_"_ _You look beautiful." He said softly. My_ _stomach_ _fluttered and my cheeks_ _turned pink_ _at_ _the compliment_ _._ _I’d heard him say those exact words so many times before, but in this moment his tone was different. It was as if he was speaking to someone he truly desired, and that person was me._ _He lifted his hand and caressed my cheek gently while_ _his eyes_ _studied_ _my face, taking in every feature_ _._

_My eyes closed as his fingertips travelled down my neck and over my collarbone, caressing my sensitive skin. His touch made my skin tingle and when he pulled away I felt myself longing for more. Crawling towards me, h_ _e gently pushed me onto my back and leaned himself on top of me, still keeping his eyes locked_ _with_ _mine_ _._

_"_ _I've waited so long for_ _this_ _." He_ _spoke softly_ _in_ _to_ _my ear before placing a light kiss just below it,_ _making me shiver_ _. He_ _ran_ _his soft lips along the_ _exposed_ _part of my neck until he reached my jaw line then_ _lifted_ _his face and positioned it right above_ _my own_ _. He smiled sweetly at me before_ _lowering his lips, embracing me in a passionate kiss._ _The moment_ _our lips_ _touched felt_ _like an electric shock_ _. His_ _mouth_ _moved expertly against mine as he deepened the kiss_ _and r_ _an_ _his_ _fingers_ _through my hair_ _._

_The kiss felt like it lasted hours, but it_ _was still_ _too soon for him to pull away when he did. Looking in my eyes again, it seemed as though he was searching for something, as if he had a question burning behind his that only mine would answer._

_"_ _I love you,_ _Ana." He whispered._

_"_ _I love you too, Sirius._ _" I whispered back_ _as_ _our lips met once more_ _._

I shot up, my heart beating so hard that I thought for a moment it was going to explode out of my chest.

'What the fuck was that!' I mentally shouted.

Looking around the dark room, I regained my barrings. The dormitory was quiet but bright as the moon was shining through my window, illuminating the foot of my bed. I could easily see that everyone was still soundly asleep and I was most definitely not in the middle of a bright, sun filled meadow with Sirius.

I’d never had a dream that vivid before. I could still feel the warmth of the sun on my face and the softness of the grass on my back. I could even smell the earthy scent of the forest around me. This must have had something to do with learning occlumency over the summer. Were vivid dreams some sort of side effect of becoming an occlumens? Not only that, but my dream was of Sirius.

No, not just of Sirius, but of him and I kissing and telling each other we loved one another. Why was my subconscious creating a scenario like that? Normally I didn’t give divination a second thought, but for some reason I couldn’t shake the feeling that it must have meant something.

Laying back down and exhaling deeply, I stared up at the ceiling and pondered the dream further. Perhaps it was because today was the first day I’d seen him in two months? Normally we would’ve gotten together over the summer break, but this year had been different and we weren’t able to see each other like we normally had.

Yeah that was probably it.

But then my mind continued to wander. What if it wasn’t as simple as that? What if it was some sort of premonition? He was older than he was now, was my dream some sort of gaze into the future?

No, don’t be ridiculous.

But how ridiculous was it actually? We’d been friends forever, we were getting older, and it seemed every year that went by he got more attractive than the year before. Maybe I was subconsciously in love with him and my ego wouldn’t allow me to see it.

Damn. I knew it was one of those dreams.

The ones that were so vivid that you couldn’t shake them. I wasn’t any stranger to these types of dreams, in fact I’d prided myself on being able to lucid dream every once in a while. Unfortunately though, when it was centred around a guy I knew in the non-dream world I inevitably found myself thinking about that person in the way my sleeping mind portrayed them. This was more than likely going to develop into a crush, and that was _not_ something I was up to dealing with. I had an aptitude for making things awkward, and things between Sirius and I were most definitely going to be awkward, and the most awkward part of it all was he was going to have no idea why I was being so damn _awkward_. He could never find out about this. It was going to be tough, though. One of my main amusements in life was boring the guys with my pyschonautic tendencies that manifested from my exhilaratingly interesting dreams.

Groaning, I rolled onto my side as I attempted to fall back asleep but the thought of falling back into that meadow kept me from slipping into another slumber. Instead, I laid in bed awake for three hours until the moonlight faded and the glow of the sunrise began to filter into the room as the first day of classes began.

* * *

The great hall was bustling with students as I relaxed my heavy head on my arms while I sat at the Gryffindor table during breakfast. After the interruption to my peaceful slumber, I wasn’t able to fall back asleep and I was utterly exhausted.

Sirius jabbed a hard finger into my shoulder, jarring me from my unruffled state. "Why is your hair in your scrambled eggs?" He asked, shoving a slice of toast into his mouth.

I turned my head and scowled in his direction. I wasn’t a morning person on the best of days, but when I didn’t get my eight hours of uninterrupted sleep I was basically a hobgoblin. Normally, everyone knew not to talk to me until at least 9 o’clock but today they seemed to have forgotten that golden rule and were getting on my last nerve; especially Sirius. Since staggering half awake down the stairs from my dormitory and into the common room, he had been nattering at me nonstop as we made our way to the great hall and it was driving me up the fucking wall.

I get it, he missed my awesome company, but was he always this god damn annoying? I sat there quietly trying to see how long it would take for me to successfully murder him with my eyes.

"Who pissed in your pumpkin juice this morning? You’re never pleasant this early, but you seem extra grouchy." Remus said as he took a seat next to me, noticing my expression.

"I didn't get any sleep." I muttered before taking a deep breath and reminding myself that he wasn’t the reason I was in this mood, so I needed to be a decent person and not take it out on him.

"Why not?" Sirius asked with a mouth full of toast.

“Could you chew any louder?” I snapped my attention back to him, causing him to laugh loudly. "I had a nightmare." I answered his question, hoping that would get him off my back.

"About what?" James pressed.

"None of your business, Potter." I turned my murderous glare towards him, which he returned with a bright grin.

"Oh Ana, lighten up.” He said cheerily. “It's the first day of term, you should be thrilled. We will probably have an opportunity to discuss the summer readings _and_ be getting a ton of homework. Plus if you’re lucky you’ll get to introduce yourself to your new desk mates. Maybe you’ll even get to talk about what you did this summer, I know how much you enjoy that!"

He was having the time of his life.

I raised my head off of my hands as I reared up to start chewing him out when the shrill voice of Charlene, one of Sirius' most annoying conquests and the one he supposedly broke things off with, deafened me. She took the seat on the other side of him, looking much too cheerful for it being eight in the morning, and greeted everyone before turning to kiss him generously. The sound of their lips smacking made me want to vomit.

"Are you sick Ana?" She turned her attention to me, looking genuinely concerned.

"No."

"Ana had a nightmare." Peter informed as I shot him a look.

“What the fuck, Peter?” I muttered.

"Oh no! That’s horrible. Are you alright? Was it terrifying? I know when I have a nightmare I get so scared to sleep again, unless of course I have someone big and strong to hold me.” She turned and smiled sweetly to Sirius. “It’s too bad you don’t have a boyfriend to make you feel better. You should eat some food, it’s the next best thing. Although, I can tell you already know that." I didn’t miss the not so subtle digs as I ignored her and stared blankly at Sirius’ amused expression.

“Yeah, you should eat some food.” He failed at keeping in the laugh he was holding.

I needed to get out of there before I blew someones head up.

"I think I just need to get to class." I stood abruptly, pulling Lily up with me who was obviously confused, but obliged anyway. "See you later, assholes."

Lily and I walked together out of the great hall and began up the stairs to the Arithmancy classroom.

"That girl is a bloody nightmare." I huffed as we climbed the stairs.

"She’s sweet once you get to know her." Lily responded nicely. "After what he said last night I didn’t think Sirius and her were together though."

“Does anyone ever know what goes on in Sirius’ love life?” I rolled my eyes.

* * *

We were seated in class before most of the students arrived, so we took out our Arithmancy textbooks as Lily told me about what she’d studied over the summer. Unsurprisingly, she had basically read over the entire years course and knew exactly what we would be discussing during the syllabus review. Lily was that friend that I absolutely appreciated for her intellectual maturity; however, sometimes it could drive a person mad. She was always hassling me about whether or not I finished the readings, and god forbid if I slacked on the homework I wouldn’t hear the end of it.

_I didn’t want to screw up my_ _entire_ _future as I only had seven years to determine the rest of my life._ She nagged, a lot, but I adored her in spite of it.

Once everyone had filled the room, Professor Vector began discussing what we would be learning throughout the term and I had to hand it to Lily, she explained the syllabus with much more passion than she did. Maybe if Lily was the one teaching Arithmancy more students would take the subject. For most of the class I doodled in my notebook while half listening to the Professor. Arithmancy wasn’t particularly one of my favorite subjects, but I was good at it and it was interesting enough so I figured why not continue on to my N.E.W.T. level.

When class was dismissed, Lily and I headed down towards the dungeons for our double potions lesson with Professor Slughorn. Potions on the other hand, was one of my favorite subjects although I was rubbish at it; another reason I was thankful for Lily Evans who graciously agreed to be my potions partner for the past two years. Unlike Vector, Slughorn had a way of making class fun and interesting and because it was a double, we would certainly be getting our hands dirty with some potion making. Sign me up for hands on learning any day, it was the desk work and assignments that were the bane of my existence.

I was busy running my mouth, not paying any mind to where I was walking as we rounded the corner of the staircase when I suddenly crashed into a wall, or what I thought was a wall. Most of my books went flying out of my arms as I looked up into the absolutely livid face of a large Slytherin student. He was at least a foot taller than me with dark messy hair and rich brown eyes, and based on how solid the collision felt I could confidently say he had a muscular build.

To put it bluntly, he was fucking hot.

I was thrown off by the impact as I stood there staring up at the person I had just shamelessly walked into. I knew exactly who he was.

Tomas Wilkes.

He wasn’t anyone I was friendly with despite the fact that he was one of my brother’s best friends. Tomas was usually part of the group functions Shay would throw at the house and ran in the same crowd as him around school. Despite that, I’d never actually had a formal conversation with him. Honestly, he’d always scared me a little so I just admired him from afar, but standing there in front of him I couldn’t help but notice how striking he was up close, and although he was clearly annoyed with my lack of awareness, his angry look was quickly replaced with a smug grin that caught me off guard.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there.” I could feel my face turning red as I looked down, trying to collect myself.

Why was I blushing? I never blushed. I was awkward as hell but never openly self conscious around guys like him. Something about the way he looked down at me made me want to tuck my tail and run away. It scared me, but I was also surprisingly captivated.

Get it together, I mentally scolded myself as I steeled my back and swallowed the nerves. He ignored my apology as he knelt down to pick up his belongings, holding one of my notebooks in his large hand.

"Nice to see you, Ana." He said to my surprise. His voice was deep but inquisitive as he held my book out to me. I was in complete shock that he even remembered my name as I stared, getting lost in his dark eyes that blazed with confidence.

"This is yours." He stated, waving the notebook with my name scrawled across the top in front of me as I snapped out of my daze, cringing at how weird I was making this.

“Oh uh, thanks.” I said shyly as I took the book from him and tucked it along with the others I’d held under my arms.

“You should watch where you’re going, sweetheart.”

With that, he stepped past me and continued up the stairs as I stood and gaped at his retreating form. Finally, I exhaled the breath I didn’t realize I was holding and turned back to Lily as my heart raced.

“That was weird.” She said bluntly as she observed my expression. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine I just can’t believe I didn’t see him there.” I leaned down to collect the remainder of my books that were still sprawled across the staircase landing and felt my face returning to its normal color.

“I mean he’s not wrong, you do need to watch where you’re going.” She laughed and continued down the stairs as if nothing had happened. I trailed behind as I tried to regain my composure. “He’s friends with Shay I take it.” She said as I fell back into stride.

“Why do you say that?” I asked, trying to hide the fact that my heart was still pounding in my chest.

“He knew you.” She laughed as though it were obvious.

“Yeah, right.” I nodded as I bit my bottom lip, attempting to hide the smile that threatened to form on my lips as I played the way he said my name over again in my head. His voice was deep and sultry and I wanted to hear more of it.

Jeez when did I become so lame?

We reached the classroom without any more hiccups several minutes before the start of class and hurried to our seats. It wouldn’t look good to be late on the first day, especially considering I’d already barely met the prerequisites for potions six. I needed to show Slughorn how serious I was so that he would hopefully let me into seventh year even if I bombed again.

“You’re late.” Sirius commented as Lily and I took our seats at the front of the classroom.

“No, we are not.” Lily defended, insulted at the accusation. “You’re just early.”

It was strange that him and James were in class before us; normally they were lollygagging in the hallways until classes started and strolled in right as the Professor was closing the door to begin. But there they were: seated, facing the front of the room, and had their books open.

James smiled handsomely at Lily as we both turned to look at them and I saw her eye James with a suspicious look when she noticed he already had his notebook open and was ready for class. When she turned away I raised my brows to Sirius, silently questioning him if they were up to something.

‘I’ll tell you later.’ He mouthed as he leaned back in his chair and placed his hands behind his head pompously. I rolled my eyes and turned back towards the front, waiting for class to being.

A group of Slytherins strolled into the room just before I heard the door shut. I watched them take their seats to the left of us while they bantered amongst themselves, paying no mind to anyone else that was already in the room. My eyes followed Rabastan Lestrange as he took in the spot across the walkway from me, and he must’ve felt the heat of my stare because when he was settled into his seat he casually turned to return my look. My gaze quickly dropped to the top of my desk as I tried to hide the fact that I’d been watching him.

“Hey Travers, nice to see you again.” He leaned towards me, his smirk indicating that he had in fact seen me looking.

Sighing, I turned to face him before returning his greeting. “Hi Rabastan.” I said quietly, not wanting to start a conversation with the guy I was secretly so smitten with. We’d had classes together since our first year, and I spent some time with him outside of class as he was close friends with my brother, but none of my friends knew about our summer escapade that had ended almost as quickly as it had started.

“I missed seeing you this summer, get up to any trouble?” His insinuating smirk caused my cheeks to flush for the second time this morning.

“More than I should’ve. How was yours?” I grinned, not phased by his bait.

He chuckled lowly. “Very exciting. Although it could’ve been _much_ longer.” I raised my brow in response, not missing his suggestive tone. He was getting dangerously close to exposing the fact that we didn’t despise one another. Tearing my eyes away from his, I returned my attention to my books as I absently flipped through the pages, not actually reading any of the words as my mind wandered.

Though Rabastan and I hadn’t done much when it came to a physical relationship, we did manage to build a romantic connection over summer, which included hot and heavy make out sessions and a lot of flirting. I was under the impression that we were on our way to becoming a full on couple, but a few weeks before the end of summer he had made it excruciatingly clear that he wasn’t interested in anything beyond a summer fling. Especially something that would require any type of commitment on his end. The fact of the matter was that he came from a family that idolized blood purity, and although I came from a well respected pure blood family, he had no interest in dating a Gryffindor who didn’t agree with those views and had friends that didn’t live up to those standards.

It was fun while it lasted, and even though I’d been heartbroken when he ended things, I had to admit that he was right. It would never work between us, no matter how much I wanted it to. We had completely different values and beliefs, but those barriers didn’t seem to extinguish that tiny bit of hope I held onto that one day we would pick up where we left off and become more than what we were.

What we had was electric. It was forbidden, and something about being with someone who I knew I shouldn’t have been with was exhilarating. It helped that he was the dark and dangerous type, and knowing that someone who was considered so wild and untamed could be so gentle and affectionate with me made me feel special. I saw a different side of him, one that not many people knew existed, and it had me hooked.

“Good morning, sixth years!” Slughorn’s cheery voice floated across the room as he addressed the class, pulling me from my thoughts. “I hope you all did the readings that were assigned as we are jumping straight into potion making!” He rubbed his hands together excitedly.

I side eyed Lily who gave me a knowing look. I definitely did not do the readings.

“Today, we will be having a little competition, and the prize is this.” He held a small vile in the shape of a teardrop up for the class to see. “Felix Felicis, also known as liquid luck. The student that can brew the perfect living death will get this small vile as a reward for your valiant effort, but be warned it won’t be as easy as one might think. Not a single student has managed to claim this prize.”

“My time to shine.” I said sarcastically before hearing a snort sound from behind me. Turning around I saw the amused look on Sirius’ face at my comment.

Once Slughorn was done addressing the class, Lily and I opened our texts. I briefly looked over the instructions before sighing dramatically. “I’m sorry Lily, but I think this is a write off.” I laughed, closing my book with a loud clap.

She looked at me apprehensively and I could tell she was thinking the same thing, she was just too stubborn to admit it. “Come on Ana, let’s at least give it a shot. Who knows, maybe this is your year.” She grinned as I continued to laugh.

“I appreciate the optimism, partner.”

We got to work on the potion and for the entirety of the class, sounds of frustrated sighs and groans could be heard around the room as each pair attempted to complete the impossible task that we were given. It took the full two hours but finally, one pair had captured the attention of Slughorn.

“It’s absolutely perfect. Congratulations you two, you’ve earned it.” Slughorn said as he handed the potion to Severus Snape and Percy Parkinson.

Lily sighed as she slumped into her seat, claiming defeat. “I’m sorry.” I said quietly, knowing she was struggling both with the fact that we hadn’t been able to successfully complete the potion and that Slughorn was boasting about Severus.

Up until last year the two had been practically best friends, that was until Severus called Lily an unspeakable name and completely destroyed their friendship in a matter of seconds. Even though what he did was unforgivable, Lily still struggling with whether or not cutting ties with him was the right thing to do. In all honesty, I felt like she should’ve cut him some slack. He was clearly angry about James and Sirius tormenting him that day and it had just slipped out. However, the way he said it with such ferocity, and the idea that he could say that to someone who was nothing but kind to him made even my blood boil. It was unfortunate, but he fell in with the wrong crowd, the crowd that included the people my brother had always spent his time with, and I knew from experience that the word mudblood was just a part of their daily vocabulary.

“Well, we knew from the beginning that it was a write off.” I elbowed her, causing a small grin to lift the corners of her lips.


End file.
